Marine Area 1

Columbia River North Jetty / Cape Disappointment

A major shore-fishing destination at the Washington side of the Columbia River mouth, with jetty access for lingcod, rockfish, greenling and surfperch near Cape Disappointment.

Part of Marine Area 1 — Ilwaco

Fishing overview

Primary documented opportunities include Jetty fishing, Bottomfish, Surf fishing. Common FishyNW targets include Lingcod, Rockfish, Greenling, Surfperch. Documented access includes Jetty, Shore, State park. Use the live marine panels below for current tides, weather, buoy observations and alerts, and verify current seasons, closures and retention rules with the official regulation sources before fishing.

Current marine observations are intentionally kept separate from FishyNW's stable fishing and access guidance so a live feed cannot be mistaken for a typical seasonal pattern.

Top species anglers target here

FishyNW documents 4 target species for Columbia River North Jetty / Cape Disappointment, led here by Lingcod, Rockfish, Greenling, Surfperch. The cards below add fishery context from the canonical species profiles. Presence on this page does not guarantee an open season or retention opportunity, so current seasons, quotas and emergency rules remain tied to the official regulation sources below.

6 primary targets
Fishery timing at a glance

FishyNW intentionally does not paint a generic month-by-month calendar when the source data does not support one. Saltwater openings can be quota managed, emergency adjusted, run dependent, or area specific. These cards show the strongest supported timing context and route you to live rules for the actual legal season.

Fishing opportunity and seasonality

Columbia River North Jetty / Cape Disappointment supports Jetty fishing, Bottomfish, Surf fishing. FishyNW treats these as stable fishery opportunities rather than a live statement that each fishery is open today. Saltwater seasons can be quota managed, emergency adjusted, run dependent, or subarea specific, so use the species context here for trip planning and confirm the legal season in the official sources before departure.

How anglers use this water

Documented access for Columbia River North Jetty / Cape Disappointment includes Jetty, Shore, State park. These are planning categories from FishyNW's existing access records, not guarantees that every site is open or suitable today. Tide stage, wind, surf, current, bar restrictions, parking, launch status and local closures can materially change whether a specific access method is practical.

Jetty fishingBottomfishSurf fishing
Shore / jetty / beach

Shore fishing

Documented shore opportunity may include beaches, jetties, piers, parks or shoreline access. Site hours, legal access and surf exposure can vary substantially.

North JettyA JettyCape Disappointment State ParkWaikiki Beach area

Shore-based opportunity is documented here, but legal access, parking and site hours can vary by location.

Verify current public access: WDFW water access areas · WDFW public fishing piers

Local fishing geography

These are recognizable fishing places within or associated with this water. They are not substitutes for regulatory boundaries.

North Jetty
A Jetty
Cape Disappointment State Park
Waikiki Beach area

How this area is actually fished

  • The North Jetty and A Jetty are established no-boat options at the Columbia mouth.
  • Rock structure holds bottomfish, while adjacent beaches provide surfperch opportunity.
  • Fishing quality and safe access can change dramatically with swell, tide and wind.

Fishery relationships

FishyNW groups the species already documented for this water by the kind of trip they support. Current seasons and retention rules still come from the official regulation sources below.

Bottomfish & offshore
Shore & surf

Washington trip planning

Open Pacific, Columbia River plume and bar-influenced fishery with major charter, salmon, bottomfish, tuna and jetty components.

Local focus: Jetty fishing is most useful when swell allows safe footing and waves are not washing across exposed rocks; conditions can deteriorate faster than the nearby marina suggests.

  • Treat the Columbia River Bar as a separate go/no-go decision from fishing inside Baker Bay or the lower river.
  • Ocean trips are usually planned around marine forecast, swell and bar timing first; fishing location comes second.
  • Jetty and surf trips need swell awareness even when wind at the marina appears modest.

WDFW coastal, Buoy 10 and ocean catch reports

Marine conditions

FishyNW combines official NOAA/NWS observation and forecast sources for this location. Live feeds are cached and fail independently so a temporary agency outage does not break the fishing page.

Tides refreshed just nowBuoy observed 26 min ago
48 hour tide curve
NOAA Cape Disappointment, WA · MLLW
Outgoing tide
8.2 ft6.1 ft4.0 ft1.9 ft-0.2 ft Fri 5 PMFri 11 PMSat 5 AMSat 11 AMSat 5 PMSat 11 PMSun 5 AMSun 11 AMSun 5 PMSun 11 PMMon 5 AMMon 11 AMMon 1 PM
Range shown: -0.2 to 8.2 ftNext low: 1:20 PM · -0.115 ft
Tide cycle right now
Time progress between the previous and next NOAA high/low prediction
Outgoing
High 7:24 AM · 8.17 ftLow 1:20 PM · -0.115 ft
99% of the time interval between these tide events has elapsed. Water-level tide timing is not the same thing as tidal-current slack.
Tidal current & slack planning
Representative NOAA current station: Baker Bay entrance, E of Sand Island Tower · 23 ft prediction depth
Subordinate prediction
Flood
flowing in
Slack
current near minimum
Ebb
flowing out

FishyNW does not infer flood, ebb or slack from the tide-height curve. Use NOAA's current prediction for this specific station for the actual timing.

Open NOAA flood / ebb / slack prediction →
Observed waves
4.6 ft
15 sec period
Observed wind
9.7 kt
Gust 11.7 kt
Water temp
59.9°F
Air temp
57.4°F
Tide
Outgoing
Next low: 1:20 PM · -0.115 ft
NOAA: Cape Disappointment, WA
Current station: Baker Bay entrance, E of Sand Island Tower · 23 ft prediction depth
NOAA tides & water levels · NOAA representative current prediction
Marine weather
PZZ156 · Point Grenville to Cape Shoalwater out 10 NM
No active NWS marine alert returned for this zone.
Official NWS marine forecast
Nearby ocean observation
Columbia River Bar - 20 NM west
Wave height: 4.6 ft at 15 sec
Wind: 9.7 kt · gust 11.7 kt
Water: 59.9°F
NOAA/NDBC station
Navigation & access notices
USCG Northwest District · Columbia River sector context

Conditions are planning information, not a go/no-go guarantee. Always check the linked official source immediately before departure, especially for bar crossings, strong-current passages, offshore runs and rapidly changing weather.

Marine safety context

Jetty rocks, breaking waves and the Columbia River entrance make this a high-consequence shore environment; stay well back from unsafe water and never turn your back on the surf.

Conditions data is intentionally not hardcoded. Use the live NOAA/NWS links and observations above for tides, currents, marine forecasts, buoy conditions and official warnings; verify bar restrictions and local notices immediately before departure.

Technical data relationships

Reference mappings FishyNW uses to connect this water with marine areas, stations and navigation context.

Regulation System
WDFW Marine Areas
Regulation Area
1
Coast Guard District
13
Destination Detail
local fishing geography

Official sources and current regulations

FishyNW organizes stable fishing knowledge but does not replace current regulations, emergency rules, closures or marine safety notices.